Interview: Jill Marie Jones Was Born to Kick Ass on Ash vs Evil Dead

I recently got the chance to talk to Jill Marie Jones, who is the amazing actress that portrays Amanda Fisher on Starz’s Ash vs Evil Dead. A Michigan State Trooper that encounters the Deadites after Ash let’s them slip through into our world again. She’s new to the world created by Sam Raimi but as I learned from talking to her, she was more than thrilled to jump right in and get in on the action along side Bruce Campbell. Possibly even a little more than the iconic actor?

How did you feel about joining a cult classic series? Were you already a fan of Evil Dead?

I definitely knew about it since it was so iconic. I’m a huge horror fan in general. Of course when I landed the series, I binged it and became a huge fan of the series. Sam Raimi is such a genius.

Are you a fan of the horror/comedy genre series?

The Exorcist was probably the first scare that I had. I did grow up watching Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, Friday the 13th, and oh my god, Amityville Horror. And Poltergeist! Now my mouth is watering. I need to watch those again!

What’s really great for the die-hard fans of Evil Dead is that they did so great by the fans. Die hard fans will see iconic Evil Dead moments. Sam Raimi and the rest of the production really will make the fans proud.

You have to join in on the action of fighting the Deadites. How much fun was that?

Oh god! I learned so much about myself, not sure if it’s good or bad [laughs]. I actually enjoyed the blood. Participating in something that I was a fan of, horror movies, was amazing.

I’ve been boxing for years for workout purposes but I also did arms training because I wanted to learn how to properly use a gun safely. But I’m really enjoying the fighting. The cool thing was that every bruise that I received while filming was like a badge of honor.

Were there days you came home drenched in blood?

Oh, let me tell you something. That blood seeps into places that you would not expect. You’ll find Tuesday’s blood on you later on during the week and just sort of get used to it.

You’re pretty kick-ass in the first episode. How do you hope people view your character, Amanda Fisher?

I’m an artist. I’m a creative artistic soul. I want to do great work. It will be really cool to see little Fisher’s walking around next Halloween but I’m just excited to be on this show that has strong female characters and great writing. A show that’s funny and scary. I’m just excited about the work.

As a female fan of the Evil Dead series, it’s really important and exciting to me to see women going toe-to-toe with Ash. Was that something that you thought about while filming?

One of the reasons I wanted this project in the first place was that not just Amanda but all the female leads are badass. They aren’t waiting on a man to save them, they can handle it. So, I loved that initially. But there’s a lot more of that to come. I just hope that young women watching the show can see that girls kick butt.

It’s interesting to me because they are such a band of misfits. Other series, the heroes all are a certain type of way and then there is us, which I think is really cool. We are the everyman, everywoman but we are kicking butt.

What was it like working with Bruce Campbell, Lucy Lawless, and Sam Raimi?

It was great. Lucy Lawless, I have a girl crush on her. She’s just awesome. When we first started doing our stuff together, Lucy didn’t realize how girly I am with being into fashion and red lipstick. She was like, “Oh my god, I thought we were going to be friends but I don’t know now.” I told her that we were going to be friends and I will stalk you until we are friends. Everything worked out thankfully [laughs].

Bruce was awesome. He was our leader. He led, we followed.

Sam, he has such a gentle touch as a director. He gets his shots but he makes you feel like you are part of the process and I do feel like we were part of the process. And he’s not just respectful to the cast, he’s respectful to the crew, which I think is amazing. It’s great when you meet someone that you idolize and they are kind, and full of love, and have a heart of gold.

Have you had any surprising fan moments yet?

I wouldn’t call it crazy fan moments because I love it. New York Comic Con was really beautiful to see all the fans of the franchise. It was really cool to see all of the fans dressed as Ash. This show is only happening because of the fans asking for it. They made it happen.

I could write something really corny or awesome about me but honestly I'm just a young woman that loves geek culture, laughing, and keys (I have a strange obsession with keys).
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